RAMADAN . . .
Laylat al-Qadr (lit.
Night of Destiny) is the anniversary of the night Muslims believe the first
verses of the Quran were revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. While the
Quran does not provide a specific date, Laylat al-Qadr is traditionally believed
to be found in the last 10 nights of Ramadan. Most Muslims observe Laylat
al-Qadr or 'Night of Power' on the 27th night of Ramadan. The Quran describes
Laylat al-Qadr as, 'better than a thousand months', for on that night the angels
and the Spirit have God's permission to come down in answer prayer (Sura 97).
This year, the Night of Power falls on or around the night of 5/6
Sept.
Throughout Ramadan, Muslims are not permitted to eat, drink, smoke
or have sexual relations between sun-up and sun-down. The rigors of Ramadan
elevate stress, frustration and Islamic zeal. In lands with pre-existing
religious tensions, the last days of Ramadan can be days of extreme tension. In
pre-Islamic times, Ramadan was officially a month of peace when caravans could
travel unarmed. With the Muslims in decline, Muhammad decided to reverse his
flagging fortunes by attacking an unarmed caravan during Ramadan. When the Arabs
protested, saying that warfare in the sacred month was a 'great transgression',
Mohammad had a 'revelation' and declared that fitna (anything that could shake
the faith of a Muslim) was worse than bloodshed (2:216-217). According to
Muhammad biographer Husein Haykal, 'This revelation brought the Muslims relief,
and the Prophet accepted his share of the booty' (Haykal p 210). Henceforth,
Islamic fundamentalists from Egypt to Pakistan to Indonesia; and jihadists from
Algeria to Kashmir to Thailand, routinely emulate Muhammad by escalating their
jihad during Ramadan.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT:
- our LORD Jesus Christ will surprise many Muslims this Laylat al-Qadr (Night
of Power) by revealing himself as the Way, Truth and Life (John 14:6)
- our Sovereign God and Father will watch over and protect his children during
these tense days, and 'frustrate the ways of the wicked' (Psalm 146:9
NIV).
. . . & PROVOCATIONS IN THE
U.S.A.
This year, just as Ramadan reaches its conclusion, a church
in USA, plans to hold an
'International
Burn a Qur'an Day'. The day chosen for this event is 11 September, in
commemoration of the thousands murdered by Islamic terrorists on 11 Sept 2001.
The church,
Dove World Outreach in Gainesville,
Florida, claims to be making a statement against Islam which it denounces as
false religion, unable to save. While the statement is fine, the means is
provocative in the extreme and not in the spirit of Christian grace. It is one
thing for a Muslim convert to Christianity to burn his/her Quran as a sign of
liberation. It is quite another thing for Christians to burn something precious
and sacred to Muslims in the full knowledge that it will cause hurt and outrage.
Muslims who have been spiritually searching will doubtless be repelled.
Meanwhile, Muslims looking for a reason to kill Christians will be presented one
on a platter.
There is already an enormous amount of momentum building
for a violent response. Muslims have posted threats to jihadist websites
expressing their intention to martyr themselves as bombers in the church.
Members of the Al-Falluja jihadist forum (Iraq) have threatened to 'spill rivers
of your (American) blood' and 'a war the likes of which you have never seen
before'. In Indonesia, the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) has vowed to retaliate if
the event goes ahead. On Friday 27 Aug, Muslims holding banners reading 'Destroy
burners of the Quran' and 'Answer the Quran burning with Jihad', protested
outside the US embassy in Jakarta. According to Roni Ruslan of Indonesia's
Hizbut Tahrir, 'No one will be able to control this reaction.'
See:
International
Protests Begin Ahead of Sept. 11 Koran Burning Event in
Florida
FoxNews.com, 27 August 2010
Florida
church plans to burn Quran on 9/11 anniversary
AFP, 1 Aug 2010,
FPI
vows to retaliate over Koran burning
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta
Post, Jakarta, Fri, 27 Aug 2010
Planned holy Quran burning
protested by Indonesian Muslims
Ahlul Bayt News Agency, 29 Aug
2010
Also -- appeals from INDIA:
"The
MBMC, FMSA and AMU community strongly condemns the call given by the Dove
World Outreach Centre, Florida which may throw the world into
turmoil."
Two
Christian human rights activists in India, J. G. Anthony and RL Francis,
have appealed to United States ambassador to India in New Delhi, urging that
President Obama intervene to halt the Qur'an burning event, which they believe
could trigger religious conflict around the world.
IkhwanWeb.com, the
website of the
Muslim Brotherhood (MB),
reports that Dr. Diaa Rashwan, the MB's expert at Egypt's Al-Ahram Centre for
Political and Strategic Studies, describes the Qur'an-burning event as
"exceedingly dangerous", adding that "a serious crisis will arise and extremism
will be initiated in the Muslim world. . ."
See:
Burning of Quran evident
aggression against Muslims
IkhwanWeb, The Muslim Brotherhood's Official
English web site, 4 Aug 2010
Of course Dr. Rashwan's assertion that the
event would be a violation the rights of Muslims is rubbish. There is no such
right as the right not to be offended. The Qur'an-burning event will be wrong
not because it
violates Muslims' rights, but because it violates Christ's law of
love.
For Jesus said:
"So whatever you
wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the
Prophets." (Matthew 7:12). AND: A Lawyer asked Jesus,
"'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the
Law?' And he (Jesus)
said to him, 'You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it:
You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments depend all
the Law and the Prophets.'" (Matthew 22:36-40)
PLEASE PRAY
SPECIFICALLY THAT:
* Terry Jones, pastor of Dove World Outreach, might be
sensitive to the Spirit's call for means consistent with the gospel of grace --
for the sake of witness, and so that others might not have to suffer the
consequences of his deliberately provocative action.
"For the whole law
is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.'"
(Galatians 5:14)
(Bible texts from English Standard Version)
--
Posted By E.N. Kendal. Religious Liberty Monitoring to
Religious
Liberty Monitoring at 9/01/2010 04:30:00 PM